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Media reports on SIMI activist baseless, says cop

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PTI Photo

PTI Photo

Yadagiri: Police in Yadagiri have denied reports by some media groups that an alleged SIMI operative lived in the city or that NIA officers and Andhra Police had come looking for him.

“We have no information either about the reported existence of a SIMI operative in the district or the reported visit of NIA officers or Andhra Police to the district,” Superintendent of Police M Mutturaya clarified.

Earlier, a Kannada TV channel reported that Mohammad alias Guddu, a SIMI operative, had lived in Yadagiri for months and had purchased 20 mobile phone SIM cards. The report also said that the NIA officer visited some places, including a cloth store here.

The report came after a 17-year-old boy, said to be a Sangh Parivar activist, posting as a Muslim on Twitter claimed Bengaluru blast responsibility and threatened to carry out more such blasts.

Vaiko calls Salman Khan a betrayer for campaigning for Rajapaksa

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Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa with Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. (AFP Photo)

Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa with Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. (AFP Photo)

Chennai: Hitting out at Bollywood actor Salman Khan for allegedly campaigning for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, MDMK chief Vaiko on Monday dubbed him as a ‘betrayer.’

“He is also a betrayer,” Vaiko told reporters here when asked about this.

Earlier, reports had suggested that the Indian superstar, along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez, had been roped in to campaign for the Lankan leader, who is testing his electoral fortunes for a third time in the coming Presidential elections, due next month in the island republic.

Rajapaksa is under fire from political parties in Tamil Nadu, especially MDMK, as he was at the helm of affairs in 2009 when civilian casualties in the Tamil-dominated areas in Sri Lanka’s northeast reportedly peaked during the last leg of the war between Lankan army and LTTE.

Khan is not the only Indian influence in the Rajapaksa campaign. It has been reported that Arvind Gupta, a BJP social media guru, is helping the incumbent in the social media side of the campaign.

The presidential election will take place on January 8 as Rajapaksa called the election two years ahead of schedule in an apparent attempt to seek fresh mandate before his party’s popularity tumbles further, after dropping over 21% in September local elections.

(PTI)

Sohrabuddin fake encounter case: Charges against Amit Shah dropped

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Amit-Shah

New Delhi: A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai discharged BJP president Amit Shah in the fake encounter cases of Shorabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati.

The Central Bureau of Investigation special court dropped all charges against Shah in the alleged fake encounter killings of Sheikh, an alleged extremist, his wife Kauser Bi and Tulsi Prajapati, who was said to be an eyewitness to his killing. This means he will not have to face trial in the case.

“I am of the opinion that the inference drawn by CBI is not accepted in totality and he (Shah) cannot be charged as an accused,” special CBI judge MB Gosavi said in a brief order pronounced in the court.

In September 2013, the CBI had charge-sheeted Shah, the former home minister of Gujarat, and 18 others, including several police officers. Shah was charged with criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and offences under the Arms Act.

Sohrabuddin was allegedly abducted by Gujarat’s anti-terrorism squad and killed in an encounter with the police on November 26, 2005, in Ahmedabad. His wife Kausar Bi was murdered three days later, and her body disposed of.

Following this, Sohrabuddin’s brother, Rubabuddin, had filed a complaint that his brother was killed in a fake encounter.

The Gujarat police had claimed Sohrabuddin had links with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and planned to assassinate important political leaders.

Tulsiram Prajapati was killed by the police at Chapri village in Banaskantha district of Gujarat in December 28, 2006.

The CBI alleged that Shah, who was Gujarat’s home minister at the time, was involved in both killings as the police reported to him.

Shah stepped down as home minister in 2010 after he was arrested in the case. He got bail three months later.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai, who had appeared for complainant Rubabuddin, had argued in court that Shah was in frequent touch with police officers S Rajkumar Pandyan and DG Vanzara, who are in jail in connection with the case, and that he also tried to influence the investigation into the killings.

Looking at the statements recorded in the charge sheet the minimum that can be deciphered is that Shah was either trying to destroy evidence or fabricate it, and hence the discharge plea should be rejected, said Desai.

But Shah’s lawyer had contested that call records of Shah and some police officials between November 2005 and December 2006 have been brought on record, but calls made by Shah before and after the period were not.

Even the content of the talk was not produced, Shah’s lawyer had contested.

(With inputs from PTI)

Dhoni retires from tests, Kohli to lead India

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MS Dhoni

by Ian Ransom, Reuters

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retired from test cricket “citing the strain of playing all formats,” and Virat Kohli will lead the team in the fourth test against Australia in Sydney, the country’s cricket board said on Tuesday.

The shock announcement came minutes after Dhoni faced reporters in the wake of India’s draw in the third test against Australia in Melbourne, which conceded the four-match series 2-0 to the hosts.

Dhoni said nothing of his retirement plans during the post-match media conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the news was broken on the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI’s twitter feed.

“MS Dhoni has chosen to retire from Test Cricket with immediate effect,” the said on its Twitter feed.

“Virat (Kohli) will be the captain for the 4th and Final Test against Australia.”

The BCCI later issued a statement saying the wicketkeeper-captain would now concentrate on one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket, a surprise move given most senior cricketers generally forgo the shorter formats of the game in a bid to preserve their test careers.

“One of India’s greatest Test Captains under whose leadership India became the No. 1 team in the Test Rankings MS Dhoni, has decided to retire from Test Cricket citing the strain of playing all formats of Cricket,” the statement said.

“BCCI while respecting the decision of M S Dhoni to retire from Test Cricket, wishes to thank him for his enormous contribution to Test Cricket and the laurels that he has brought to India.”

The 33-year-old had been under immense pressure in the wake of the team’s disappointing 3-1 loss against England and the series defeat by Australia may have hastened the decision.

Long considered Dhoni’s heir apparent, Kohli led the team in the first test against Australia in Adelaide, scoring back-to-back centuries in his debut as captain and earning plaudits for his aggressive approach despite the cliff-hanging loss by 48 runs.

Though not a victory, Dhoni’s last test in charge may have been satisfying on a personal level, having struck an unbeaten 24 to help guide his team to safety on the fifth and final day as Australia’s seamers pushed hard for a third successive win.

His stewardship is likely to be hotly debated for months and years to come, having taken India’s test team to the world number one ranking for a brief period, but also leading a team that would invariably fail to perform away from home soil.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom, Editing by Patrick Johnston)

Third Test drawn, Australia seal series

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Dhoni

Melbourne: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (24 not out) played a responsible knock to force a draw for India against Australia on a tense fifth and final day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Tuesday.

Dhoni’s patient innings, together with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (8 not out) put on a brave 32-run seventh-wicket partnership to bail out India from a tight spot and avoid a third consecutive defeat against the hosts. The match ended with India reaching 174 for six.

But the draw wasn’t enough for India to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy as Australia now have a unbeatable 2-0 lead after three Tests in the four-match series. The fourth match begins from Jan 6 in Sydney.

Australia declared their second innings at 318 for nine courtesy of middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh’s 99, to expand their lead to 383 runs.

Chasing a stiff target of 384 in 70 overs, India’s run chase began on a disastrous note, losing the wickets of openers Shikhar Dhawan (0), Murali Vijay (11) and Lokesh Rahul (1) in quick succession.

Australia’s pace trio of Mitchell Johnson, Harris and Hazlewood collectively wrecked havoc as they shared the three wickets to fall.

However, the Indians pulled things back, posting 104 for three at tea, with in-form first innings centurions Virat Kohli (54) and Ajinya Rahane (48) holding fort at the MCG.

But pacer Ryan Harris (two for 30) took the massive wicket of Kohli with the first ball after tea, that snapped the 85-run strong fourth-wicket partnership, to give Australia the upper hand.

The hosts stepped up the pressure after the Indian vice-captain’s departure and got further impetus from the quick dismissals of Cheteshwar Pujara (21) and Rahane that reduced India to 142 for six with 15 overs still to play.

India needed a strong foundation in their stiff run chase to give them any hope of a win but began on a disastrous note, losing the struggling Dhawan for zero, trapped leg before wicket off Harris.

Debutant Rahul was promoted up the order but fared no better, hopelessly mistiming an attempted pull off Johnson to be caught by a back-pedalling Shane Watson.

The crisis deepened when in-form Vijay was adjudged out leg before off Hazlewood to reduce India to 19 for three.

Kohli and Rahane were faced with the tough task of rebuilding the innings and scoring at a fast clip to keep India in contention for the win.

They began in an enterprising fashion, pulling Johnson for boundaries through the mid-wicket region.

Kohli survived a run out chance on four after a terrible miscommunication. That brought to the fore the animosity between Kohli and the Australians, spearheaded by Johnson, that has been one of the highlights of the series so far.

That started a continuous flow of chattering in the middle but Kohli and Rahane hung in there till tea to steady India’s innings.

But once Kohli was dismissed pressure mounted intensely until Dhoni-Ashwin stood tall.

Earlier in the morning session, Shaun Marsh missed his maiden Test century on home soil, getting run out on 99 runs, but steered Australia to 318 for nine declared at lunch, to set India a tall order.

Marsh was dismissed by a direct hit from an onrushing Kohli from mid-on while trying to complete what would have been his third Test century with a quick single.

Harris, unbeaten on eight overnight, was first batsman dismissed during the morning session that was halted twice by rain. He was out for 21 by Mohammed Shami, who picked up his second wicket of the innings to give two wickets each to India’s four bowlers.

Rain stopped the action twice but Australia weren’t willing to declare their innings despite the time loss. They waited till Marsh’s century to declare their innings, but Marsh was dismissed just on the stroke of lunch.

India didn’t take the second new ball as the old one was offering some reverse swing. Australia were uncharacteristically slow as they batted without any urgency, intending to nullify India’s chances of a win.

(IANS)

Muslims are Indians by choice, not only by birth: Asaduddin Owaisi in Bhatkal

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Asaduddin Owaisi Bhatkal

Bhatkal: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said that those who suspect Indian Muslims’ patriotism should know that Muslims are the only community who are Indians not only by birth but also by choice.

Addressing the valedictory ceremony of the centenary celebration of the Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem, a leading social organization in Bhatkal, warned the communal forces against maligning the image of this coastal town.

Criticizing the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ re-conversion drive taken up by Hindu outfits, he said, “Instead of talking about Ghar Wapsi (‘homecoming’), let them talk about ‘black money Wapsi’. This is the land where Prophet Adam stepped his feet. We are from this land. Our faith is not so weak that we will listen to the Ghar Wapsi propaganda.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to bring black money within a month after coming to power, and depositing Rs 15 lac in every person’s bank account. What happened to that promise now?” he questioned.

Asserting that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and terrorist activities, he said, “I condemn the global attitude of relating violence with Islam. There is no relationship between ISIS, the terrorist organization and Islam. ISIS was born in the US.

“There are thousands of Dalit and Muslim prisoners languishing in jails for no fault of theirs. They should be released. Innocent Muslim youth should be acquited of the accusations of violence,” he opined.

He further said, “The police had warned that peace would be disrupted if I came to Bhatkal. Bhatkal is a part of India and I will keep coming here. Nobody can silence me.

“Those who call me communal should answer a few questions first. What is the reason for Muslims in India to remain backward and poor? There are Muslims in India who live under abject poverty. There are 42 percent of poor Muslims in Gujarat, 52.7 percent in Assam and 22.4 percent in Karnataka. Who is responsible for this? We are not vote bank machines. This is our land too, and we have every right to run the country and strive for its prosperity. Our children too should get education and reach the moon. Do not play politics with education. Give us scholarships and better facilities, so that we also get quality education. Do not deprive us of our fundamental rights,” Owaisi urged.

Owaisi congratulated Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem on completing 100 years and appreciated the service it has been rendering to society, especially with relief aids during natural calamities like the Kashmir floods.

Convener of the centenary celebrations committee Abdulla Damudi compered the programme while Tanzeem secretary Mohideen Altaf Kharuri proposed the vote of thanks.

Markazi Jamatul Muslimeen chief qazi Muhammed Iqbal Mullah Nadvi, Khalifa Jamath qazi Maulana Khwaja Mohideen Akrami Nadvi, Tanzeem president Muzammil Qaziya, vice-president S M Syed Parvez and others were present.

Rajasthan: 'IM' mail sender held, no terror link, not a Muslim

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email_case

Jaipur: The Rajasthan ATS on Saturday arrested a 34-year-old resident of Jaipur’s Murlipura area for for allegedly circulating emails to 16 ministers warning them of terror strike by Indian Mujahideen on Republic Day.

The police have identified accused as Sushil Chaudhary who was held on Saturday night for circulating threatening email claiming of orchestrating terror strikes in the state on the eve of Republic day.

The email sent to 16 Rajasthan ministers to their official email id on 22 December read, “We are Indian Mujahideen. You people be careful. We are going to give you a Big Bang surprise. You can do whatever you want, but it’s a challenge that we will carry out many bomb strikes in Rajasthan on January 26. Stop us if you can.”

“We have arrested Sushil Chaudhary, a resident of Murlipura area in Jaipur, after tracking IP (internet protocol) address of a cyber cafe,” the officer told IANS.

“Chaudhary confessed that he sent those e-mails to the ministers from a cyber cafe,” official said.

“The accused was arrested by the ATS from his residence after Google provided us the IP address through which he circulated the mails. It was traced to a cyber cafe in Vidhyadhar Nagar here,” ATS ADG Alok Tripathi told PTI.

“We were provided the IP address yesterday and the accused was held last night,” Mr Tripathi said.

“Prima facie there is no terror link and the accused is being interrogated to verify his motive,” he said.

The accused created a fake email id and sent the emails from a cyber cafe, ATS officials said. The ATS had requested the email company to provide details of the email id which led to the arrest, they added.

However, as per reports, even after getting the IP address, it proved very difficult for the police to trace him via cyber-crime investigation as he had skipped Gmail’s phone verification process while creating a fake Gmail account.

As reported by ToI, he had searched ‘how to bypass Gmail verification process’ on Google. He followed some steps after learning to bypass the process, so his contact information was routed through a website which generates fake phone number of the account creator for Gmail verification. The number which he used was US-based which initially confused the police.

Nevertheless, the IP address suggested that the email had been generated using a Reliance network. After getting the address from where the email was generated, the police reached the cyber cafe. Though Sushil provided a fake ID card, the police worked out some clues and identified him.

Low-intensity blast kills one, injures three at busy Church Street in Bengaluru

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PTI Photo

PTI Photo

Bengaluru: A low intensity blast rocked Church Street in Bengaluru on Sunday December 28. The explosion, which was minor, took place outside Coconut Grove restaurant.

A woman was killed and three persons were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded on the crowded Church Street at 8.35 p.m. on Sunday.

The deceased woman, hailing from Chennai, was identified as Bhavani Devi (38). The injured persons were identified as Karthick, Sandeep and Vinay. While Sandeep and Vinay were admitted to HOSMAT Hospital, Karthick and Bhavani Devi were shifted to Mallya Hospital.

No organisation has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

The IED wrapped in a piece of cloth was placed behind an ornamental flower bush in front of Coconut Grove, a popular joint on the Church Street. The injured were pedestrians who were passing by. People ran helter-skelter after the blast while some others thought was a fire cracker burst. One of the persons injured was even thrown to a distance of over five feet, eyewitnesses said.

An auto driver named Narasimha Murthy rushed the injured to Mallya hospital in his auto, with the help of people who were at the spot.

Top police officials including city police commissioner M N Reddi rushed to the spot and are collecting evidence.

As soon as explosion took place, people were seen running helter skelter and eyewitnesses said that lot of confusion prevailed at the spot. The police have cordoned off the area.

M N Reddi said that additional police forces including the KSRP, canine squads and forensic experts have been pressed into action. He said the injured were hit by shrapnels from the IED.

Asked whether there were threats to the city, Reddi said there was a general threat perception due to the festivities, the New Year and recent happenings, but no definite threat, and the police have been alert.

The police commissioner has reportedly sent communique to all police stations, sources said and asked the Bengalureans to be on high alert. “One low intensity blast on Church Street. 2 injured, 1 serious. All requested to be alert & inform 100 if any unintended object found,” Reddi stated in his Twitter account.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today announced a compensation of Rs five lac to the kin of a woman who was killed in the low-intensity explosion outside a popular restaurant here that also left three persons injured.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the injured at a hospital here in the wee hours, Siddaramaiah said the government would provide a compensation of Rs five lac to the family of the woman, who succumbed to injuries sustained in the explosion last night.

(Agencies)

Salman Khan turns 49

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Salman Khan

Mumbai: Salman Khan is celebrating his 49th birthday today. The film fraternity took to Twitter to wish the ‘Dabangg’ star.

Smith's 192 puts Australia on top

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India's Shikhar Dhawan, right, is caught out by Australian captain Steven Smith during play on day two of their third cricket test in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

India’s Shikhar Dhawan, right, is caught out by Australian captain Steven Smith during play on day two of their third cricket test in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Melbourne: Steven Smith continued to haunt India as he compiled a career-high Test score of 192 runs to help Australia amass a mammoth 530 in the first innings and put his team on top after day two of the third Test ended with the visitors 108 for one, trailing by 422 runs, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Saturday.

Australian stand-in captain’s knock landed India into an uncomfortable position of playing catch-up for the rest of the match. They were 108 for one at stumps with Murali Vijay (55 batting) and Cheteshwar Pujara (25 batting) at the crease.

Shikhar Dhawan (28) was the lone batsman dismissed by pacer Ryan Harris. Pujara was dropped on 12 by wicket-keeper Brad Haddin off Josh Hazlewood.

Smith’s centuries in Brisbane and here Saturday made him the first Australian to score two centuries in their first two Tests as captain.

The right-handed batsman’s imperious form saw him become only the 13th Australian to score centuries in three consecutive Tests.

He also crossed 500 runs in the four-Test series during his marathon knock, getting valuable support from Haddin (55), Mitchell Johnson (28) and Harris (74) at the MCG.

They were all aggressive with the bat with Harris hitting his highest Test score.

The Indian team again failed to polish off the tail that wagged resolutely to essentially bat the tourists out of the contest.

But it was Smith who was undoubtedly the star of the show, smashing his third consecutive century of the series with a knock studded by 15 boundaries and two sixes.

Australia resumed the day at 259 for five with the game in the balance and Smith on 72, accompanied by Haddin on 23.

And it was Haddin, overnight not out on 23, who came out with a more menacing mentality.

Aware that the Indians would target his perceived weakness against short-pitched bowling, he waited on the back-foot to counter the strategy.

Willing to pull and hook at the slightest provocation, he carted the short balls to all round the park for a form-finding half-century, cracking seven boundaries and a six on its way.

The Indians continued to feed Haddin despite seeing their plan becoming counter-productive.

Haddin perished much against the run of play, edging while trying to leave a Mohammed Shami delivery to give India a ray of hope at 326 for six.

But Smith quashed any such prospect by continuing to score freely. The Indians had neither any concrete plan nor any inspiration to stop the 25-year-old.

To make matters worse, they couldn’t dismiss the bowlers at the other end to minimise the damage.

Just like the Gabba Test, the Aussie tailenders hung around, setting up crucial partnerships with Smith. Initially they were circumspect, content only to defend but flashed their bat around when they grew confident.

Smith upped his scoring pace after the dismissal of Harris to guide Australia past the 500-run mark and was ultimately bowled trying to scoop an Umesh Yadav delivery towards fine leg.

Shami was the most successful bowler for the Indians, claiming four wickets for 138 runs from 29 overs. He was followed by Yadav and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, both taking three wickets each.

But all wickets claimed came at the cost of bleeding considerable amount of runs, with all four frontline bowlers giving away more than 100 runs each for their efforts.

(IANS)

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